Oh No! Not Jazz!! consists of two albums
of musical performances. The first further explores Ed's
distinctive, big band interpretations of the music of Frank Zappa,
focusing on Frank's initial burst of creative works from original
Mothers Of Invention era of 1966-1970. In addition, two notable,
contrasting pieces from Frank's later career: the beloved "Inca
Roads," here featuring vocals by guest Napoleon Murphy Brock, and
"The Black Page #2," one of Frank's most 'notoriously difficult'
works. All of the Big Band's performances and arrangements of these
great pieces are fun, musically witty and masterful– as is typical
of all Palermo's interpretations. Unlike previous Ed Palermo Big
Band recordings, however, the second album in this set features Ed's
own colorful compositions: the 1st time they've been presented on a
recording in over 25 years!

Listen to Ed's interview on WBGOEd talks with WBGO's Michael
Bourne about his new
Cuneiform album, Oh No! Not Jazz!!
and his approach to big band arrangements and interpreting the music
of Frank Zappa and Todd Rundgren. Enjoy!

Voir/Montreal (French)This is the fourth disc
saxophonist and arranger Ed Palermo dedicated to
the music of Frank Zappa, and the interpretations of his big band
remain among the best out there.
However, this album is unique: it is double and the second disc is
devoted to the compositions of
Palermo himself. Zappa's influence is still present, but it is not
the only one, and it is very nice to hear this
together in a completely new direction. But fans of Zappa often
return to the excellent versions of
Lumpy Gravy, Little Umbrellas or Chunga's Revenge.

Okay, I could write one the shortest reviews ever: "Buy this!"
And that would do it. This is utterly wonderful, in every sense
of the word; wonderful in being just gorgeous music,
and wonderful in the sense of being full of wonder.....

- Sea of Tranquility

Reviews of our
3rd CD "Eddy
Loves Frank" on Cuneiform Records

Eddy Loves Frank (Cuneiform) The third
Palermo album of big band interpretations of Frank Zappa material,
this disc is marvelous--and precisely what you'd want to play for
someone who enjoyed Zappa's Grand Wazoo and Waka Jawaka albums but
was put off by the "funny stuff" that followed thereafter.
Bandleader Palermo--who fronts this 16-piece band in New York--has
created something unique here, and something that accords Zappa all
the respect he has long deserved. Seek it out! - Yahoo Music

Ahhhh. Ed Palermo is the only
interpreter of Frank Zappa's music who does everything as he
should. First off, he interprets Zappa's music, meaning
that he puts you in his shoes, that he adds his own grain of salt
and that he allows himself a lot of creativity. Also, his
Zappa is played by musicians of great style (12 horns, 2 keyboards,
bass and drums), that manages to simultaneously sound free and
precise. It's the third opus that Palermo devoted to Zappa's
catalogue, and joy is not denied, neither for himself, nor for us.
Night School, Dupree's Paradise or Reqyptian Strut are
as enjoyable as the originals. When can we expect you in our area?

The Ed Palermo Big Band
return to Frank Zappa's compositions for the third time with
Eddy Loves Frank (Cuneiform). The 17-piece band are capable
of the layered and undulating textures that were a hallmark of
Zappa's jazz and orchestral writing. From the regal "Regyptian
Strut" to the sassy riffing of "Echidna's Arf (Of You)",
Frank would be pleased.
- David Greenberger

"Wonderful, breathtaking, fantastic, exhilarating, great sound,
great production, great musicianship, great sleeve, great
concept.
I run out of superlatives to describe Take Your Clothes Off
When You Dance.
Its an album thats not just for Frank Zappa fans, its an
album for everyone!"--
Review from
paradoxone/UK,
JAZZ ALBUM OF THE MONTH -
OCTOBER 2006

So with Frank over ten years gone, what could Bob Quaranta, Paul Adamy,
Ray Marchica, Carl Restivo, Ronnie Buttacavoli, Johnny Tabacco, and about
ten or so others have in common, besides lots of names ending in vowels?
Sadly, too few can answer this, though this group shines like the first.
Answer: Ed Palermo, whose jazz big band has performed Zappa's music for
nine years at NYC's Bottom Line. Even the Beatles didn't last that long,
but more on them later.

On July 25th, the band performed their last concert of 2003. Partly to
return to his own compositions, Palermo has ended his run of quarterly
Zappa gigs, each showcasing fresh examples of his arranging genius. While
well-attended on mere word of mouth and their now out of print 1997 CD
(with guest soloists like Bob Mintzer and Mike Stern), paying some 20
musicians has produced a negative, well, bottom line. A lack of coverage
hasn't helped. "Nine years," noted Palermo onstage, "and not one NY paper
has reviewed us." This despite NYC's Zappa stronghold status (even the
Philharmonic had a Zappa/Varese show).

So what have critics been missing? The only comparably entertaining,
longer running dose of brilliance is also Palermo's popularity opposite:
The Simpsons. As couch potato cognoscenti well know, Simpsons creator Matt
Groening was heavily influenced by and later a close friend of Zappa. The
show's Zappa-ish score by Danny Elfman (of Tim Burton fame) and Alf
Clausen is awash in eclectic, riff and genre referencing tunes. So imagine
the Simpson theme played live by some perfectly deranged oompah band which
was seamlessly, simultaneously true to Zappa's smoking song segues and
Dada quotes, Ellington swing, be-bop improv and classical. And those
Beatle guys. Now you've got Palermo.

What makes the Palermo band so great? For starters, Frank's early 70's big
band was short-lived, and on each tour for twenty-some years evolving,
under-sized groups struggled with a ream of black pages. Palermo, by
contrast, has spent a decade fronting a driven core stacked with Broadway
pit and session quality stars dedicated to mastering those twisted
signatures and 32nd notes. Unique talents keep showing up to make the stew
even more amazing. Mr. Tabacco (his real name) is the latest. Looking like
he's tight, on-screen and off, with Steve Buscemi, this Hawaiian-shirted,
fuzzy L.I. Italian has inherited Zappa's distinctive baritone and
engaging, slightly unwashed presence.

Palermo, quite simply, has distilled Zappa to perfection. Not all of
Zappa's experiments worked, but none of Palermo's have failed. Luckily,
Zappa left a Motherlode for him to mine. Hearing the band's searing horn
sections rock and swing through an intricate scoring of Peaches en
Regalia, (Zappa's own "A Train" and father to the Simpsons theme), is
transcendental. The baritone sax hits your belly's secret b-spot, giving
off the same sense of infinite pleasure as the horn runs in Steely Dan's
"My Old School." It's Becker and Fagen-level perfection.

Indeed, the music is more beautiful and powerful than Frank could ever
manage or maybe imagine. While Frank was pleased, nearing death, that the
German Ensemble Modern could execute some of his Synclavier and classical
works, Palermo's group, now up to some 100 tunes, revives the soul of
nearly the entire Zappa canon, in both music and concept. Frank's tunes
have been capably covered in recent years by a French wind quintet, a
Swedish wind ensemble, and a Finnish baroque group, among others. All
charming, revealing interpretations, but as dead in their own way as
Frank. In Palermo, the music lives. He's done for Zappa what
Rimsky-Korsakov did for Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," and
Ellington/Strayhorn with their Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite. And then
some.

Palermo shows are often events, with Zappa alums like Keneally, singer Ike
Willis, and sister Candy Zappa sitting in. Once I skipped Palermo's late
set to see Ike's band Project/Object a few bars down. It seemed simplistic
and unsatisfying. Unlike Project/Object and Zappa-alum group Band from
Utopia, also fronted by Ike, Palermo never breaks Frank's ban on pointless
solos.

Most solos have a George Harrison or Andy Summers-like economy. Bass
player Adamy and drummer Marchica manage to simultaneously rock, swing and
groove. With Quaranta's piano, they lay down a steady support fire plus
the unexpected chords and rhythm that challenge and drive the soloists.
The others watch intently, marveling themselves until the four count from
Palermo kicks off another obscure Zappa-theme made magical.

Like Duke and Frank, alto sax/guitarist Palermo lives to hear his band.
Slowing an intro to a sonorous, Gershwin-like languor, milking the
sweetness of the melody, he holds the pause to savor the silence before
the toilet-plunger muted trumpets emit that signature Zappa queef.
Watching Palermo conduct a feverish arrangement of Zappa's Synclavier
tune, "G-Spot Tornado," as the frenetic polyrhythm gives way to a John
Zorn-like acid jazz tenor sax freak out, as he pulls down the band, bit by
bit, until only the drummer is beating out a wicked, driving off-beat in
support, is a thrilling avante-garde moment, a total train wreck only one
bad note away. The bad note never comes.

Zappa broke boundaries, throwing in "Louie Louie," classical motifs,
whatever fit. His 1988 "Bolero" was straight Ravel but for a climactic,
hilarious "My Sharona" quote, and his "Stairway to Heaven" simultaneously
sent up and celebrated that sacred warhorse. Palermo does all this and
better, quoting "Inca Roads" here, "Mother People" there, then slipping
into Saint Saens' "Carnival of the Animals" (or Stravinsky, Shostokovich,
or Brahms). Even to the unconverted, the music is totally accessible and
enjoyable, like the Saturday morning cartoon soundtracks of your youth.
Watching, you begin listing tunes by others you wish Palermo would cover.

The reworking never ends. Tunes are demolished to essential rhythm and
melody and remade into something new, yet true. After retiring the Zappa
staple "King Kong," a theme, improv and restatement piece, Palermo
re-scored it, brilliantly topping himself. Halfway through, the tune melds
into the staccato midsection from "21st Century Schizoid Man," the band
firing in perfect sync. You sit thinking, this rocks, I know this, what is
it? As the power chord chorus arrives, so does the epiphany. "King Kong
meets King Crimson. Oh yeah, that's why music is the best."

So where are the Beatles when you need them? Luckily, they're here too,
sure as Frank took on Sgt. Pepper, cover and all, with "We're Only in it
for the Money." For Palermo, who's clearly not in it for the money, the
final gig segues from the front half of "A Day in the Life" to Zappa's "Waka/Jawaka"
to Abbey Road's "The End" (complete with Ringo's taut solo). The encore
brings a delicious, straight take on "I Am the Walrus," part of Zappa's
88 Beatles medley. At the "Sitting in an English garden..." classical
radio dial-switching snippet, the sax section whispers on flutes and
piccolo. Then the band stomps back full blast for the "I am the Eggman (goo
goo ga joob)" chorus while the audience yells out "Wooo-ooo!" You sing
along, too, at one with the Fab Four and Frank. You can't buy that
anywhere else on the planet. If you like music one tiny bit, you leave
very impressed. Unless you never came. In which case, you'll have to wait
for next year's show. Until then, as Frank once said (of Al DiMeola),
"Let's hear it for another great Italian."

BERLIN -- Living in communist East Germany, Wolfhard Kutz
used all kinds of schemes to smuggle in his beloved Frank Zappa records:
secretive rendezvous with West Germans at highway rest stops; hidden
compartments in his car doors; accomplices who sneaked albums across
borders.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Kutz could
pursue his passion openly and created a fan club: the Arf Society, a
reference to Zappa's Barking Pumpkin record label.

Thanks to the group, the little town of Bad Doberan, in an
economically depressed area near the Baltic Sea, has become the unlikely
site of an annual Zappa festival. This week, the town also dedicated a
bronze bust of the late American musician in its central square.

The image, of Zappa in the 1970s, "represents him as a
rebel and avant-gardist," said Kutz, 47. "That's the way we want to hold him
in memory."

The town council initially was skeptical, Kutz said, but
gave in after some hard lobbying -- and an Arf Society pledge to pay the
equivalent of $10,000 to build and care for the monument. He said the
council hopes Zappa will draw tourists.

The town of 12,000 is already something of a magnet for
Zappa freaks. Last weekend, the 13th annual Zappanale festival included
bands from the United States, Sweden, France and Hungary, and a
German-language play called "All About Frank."

The festival started in 1990 when Kutz threw a party and
found a band that could play a few Zappa songs. This year, he said, about
2,500 people showed up for each of the three days. Eleven former members of
Zappa's band, the Mothers of Invention, played, and two of Zappa's siblings
attended.

"It was incredible to see that kind of outpouring of love
and respect for Frank," Candy Zappa, Frank's 51-year-old sister, said by
telephone from California's San Fernando Valley. She attended the festival
with her brother Bob.

"If I'd have known as a little girl living with him that I
would grow up and come to a foreign city and see posters of my brother
sitting on a toilet, I wouldn't have believed it," she said, referring to a
well-known Zappa image that was used as this year's festival poster.

Frank Zappa died of cancer in 1993. Kutz, who owns
companies that install cable and antenna systems, saw him perform live once.
He had become hooked at age 16 when he heard Zappa's 1969 album, "Burnt
Weeny Sandwich," which remains his favorite.

"It was because we were especially restricted, and Frank
Zappa strove for freedom and democracy," Kutz said.

Zappa -- a cult favorite in the United States for his
quirky, irreverent and often off-color lyrics in tunes like "Don't Eat the
Yellow Snow," "Dancin' Fool" and "Valley Girl" -- had a significant
following behind the Iron Curtain.

Czech President Vaclav Havel said after Zappa's death:
"Frank was a friend of our newly emerging democracy . . . a friend of our
country."

Vilnius, capital of the former Soviet republic of
Lithuania, already boasts a monument to Zappa, erected in 1995.

For Kutz, smuggling the Western records into East Germany
and selling copies on the black market was an act of defiance that could
have cost him dearly. After the fall of the communist regime, Kutz learned
from his secret Stasi police file that he had been under surveillance and
that 21 people had informed on his activities.

"I was shadowed my whole life," he said.

Now, Bad Doberan Mayor Hartmut Polzin, 45, said he
supports the festival and the new monument, although he doesn't personally
see the appeal of the music: "I have to say I'm not the biggest fan."

Soon after Frank Zappa's death late in 1993 I
heard about a tour by the so-called "Band From Utopia", a
collection of Zappa alum playing (quite well, to be sure) Zappa
tunes. I almost went, but, since I'd never had the pleasure of
seeing Zappa live (I was still rockin' out to Guns N' Roses
during the notorious 1988 tour, Zappa's last) the whole endeavor
seemed hollow to me. Why see a Zappa band sans Zappa? I felt
this way until I finally checked out an ongoing series happening
down at the Bottom Line in Manhattan. Dig this: an 18 piece big
band as tight as Buddy Rich's was rearranging Zappa's material
into its own unique sound. It seemed simpatico with Zappa's own
frequent re-conceptualizing (how many totally different versions
of "Trouble Every Day"?) and the only posthumous Zappa ticket
worth buying.

The man behind this project is Ed Palermo.
Indeed, he has released an album called The Ed Palermo Big Band
Plays The Music of Frank Zappa. His show at the Bottom Line
still packs 'em in, often featuring surprise guests. I was lucky
to chat with him recently and ask a few questions.

Jordan Hoffman:
I think your album can appeal even to listeners who don't know
or like Frank Zappa. How would you characterize your
interpretation of Zappa?

Ed Palermo: I think my interpretations are inspired by my
absolute love for FZ's melodies and chord changes, and my desire
to put them in a framework that best showcases those elements.
It was Frank's personality to arrange in a way that almost
obscured the beauty of his melodies. That's what made Frank such
an original. He never sentimentalized his work. When I was a
kid, I also loved the music of Todd Rundgren, who always
sentimentalized his work. So, I think what I do is try to bring
out the pathos in Frank's music the way Todd did in his.

JH: What did you learn new about Zappa's music when you
began arranging it for big band that you did not know as a
listener?

EP: I realized he was more brilliant than I thought!
That's kind of a complicated question because almost every tune
of his that I've arranged has had me scratching my head saying,
"How did he come up with that?"

JH: You list everyone under the sun as an influence, from
Todd Rundgren to Sergei Prokofiev. How did appreciation of other
composers, as well as your work with a more traditional jazz
outfit, affect your interpretation of Zappa?

EP: I guess you could say that any influence in your life
will affect your art. If it doesn't, then you're not much of an
artist. As to how it affects my interpretation of FZ's music, I
don't have a clue. That's one of those questions that I'll have
an answer for immediately after you run this interview.

JH:
Your album and live set, the two times I've seen you, avoided
Zappa's work from the 80s (with the exception of a mindfucker
version of "G Spot Tornado"!) Do you plan to expand into this,
or are you keeping away from it purposely?

EP: I guess it's obvious that I prefer the older Mothers'
material. Actually, we do quite a bit of the 80's stuff (keep in
mind I've arranged over 80 FZ tunes thus far), but there are
shows where we hardly do any. To be totally honest, there was a
period in the late 70's and early 80's where Zappa lost me.
Zappa fans, forgive me, but I couldn't stand Baby Snakes (the
movie). I didn't like most of the tunes and thought the movie
was interminable. And except for a couple classics like
"Watermelon in Easter Hay" and "Sy Borg", Joe's Garage didn't
thrill me either. To me, the music just lacked Zappa's melodic
and harmonic genius. And since no one is paying me for this
project, I can only do the material that I truly love, and I'm
afraid "Dinah-Moe-Hum" doesn't enter into that category.

JH: There's something of a gender gap with Frank Zappa
(at least in my house.) Can you account for that? Do you find
this in your work with the Big Band, too?

EP: I think the reason for the gender gap is what I
touched on before: Zappa obscured a lot of his gorgeous melodies
with weird sound effects that sound like belches and flatulence.
He loved the fact that one had to see beyond the "ugliness" to
get to the beauty. Add to that the scatological nature of his
lyrics, and I think you've turned off a lot of listeners. I,
personally, love this about Zappa, but some people don't want to
take the time to delve. At the risk of sounding sexist (like
Zappa would give a shit if he sounded "sexist") I think most
women fall into that category. Most of my audience at the Zappa
tributes are male, and I'm constantly approached by their
girlfriends with, "I always hated Zappa until I heard your band.
I never knew the melodies were so beautiful!" I know this sounds
self-serving, but it's true.

JH: Tell us a little bit about the amount of work that
goes into one of your Bottom Line shows?

EP: Well, it's quite a lot of work, but it's a total
labor of love. First, we usually set the date of the next show
within a week of the one we just played. I usually have about 6
weeks between shows. Even though I already have a zillion EP-FZ
arrangements to pick from, I always get to work on some new
ones. That way, each show is a totally different experience to
the ones prior. I really want the audience to experience
something special.

Anyway, once the arrangements are done, I bring them into our
every Friday rehearsal. Some of the tunes play themselves;
they're not insanely demanding. Others, like my new arrangement
of "Inca Roads", must be rehearsed slowly and then gradually
increased in tempo till we hit the proper speed. My musicians
are all incredible virtuosos, but even they have trouble with
something like "Inca". Keep in mind, Zappa rehearsed his bands 6
days a week, 8 hours a day. We rehearse once a week for two
hours, so I'm really proud of my band.

JH: Will you ever take this show on the road?

EP: We've played several out of town gigs (DC, South
Jersey) but each time I've lost more money than I can really
afford. So, I'm afraid the answer is probably no. I would love
to, though. The DC gig was a blast!

JH: Did you ever meet Frank Zappa?

EP: No. It's one of my deepest regrets. I wish I could
have told him how much his music shaped my life and how much
total joy it gave me. Oh, well. I imagine he heard it enough in
his lifetime.

JH: In the notes to your album, you mention that if you
ever get a chance to meet Gail & the kids, you promise to chip
in a little for dinner. This begs to be asked about. Can you
elaborate on this? Did you not have a good experience working
with the Zappa Family Trust?

EP: Actually, that little joke meant nothing. It was just
a lame little joke, which is a drag because I think the rest of
the liner notes are funny as hell, if I do say so myself.

As to my experience with the Zappas, it goes a little like this:
Frank Zappa had been ripped off his entire career by bootleggers
and record companies. Add to that the close family bond that the
Zappas have, it was inevitable that they would be suspicious of
people once again ripping them off. It's really very sweet how
loyal they are. Unfortunately, they seem to be suspicious of
everybody they don't know and to some they do know. They've
never met me, so the only way they have of knowing how sincere I
am with this project are with the 4 or 5 letters I wrote to Gail
Zappa (Frank's wife) when I started this project 5 years ago. In
those letters, I explained to her that the players in my band
generally don't get paid enough to pay for their parking on
those concert nights, and I always lose money. I also asked for
her blessing in continuing Frank's legacy. I never heard back
from her, so I decided to go ahead and do the concerts anyway.Well, 2 or 3
years go by and I finally get a record deal with Astor Place
Records. Negotiations between company lawyers and the Zappa
estate are slow and strained. At one point, a Zappa lawyer says
to an Astor Place lawyer, "Gail is not happy that Ed Palermo is
making a living off of her husband's music." MAKING A LIVING?!!
It was at that point I realized there was nothing I could ever
do to win her over. Like I said before, I understand, and even
admire, her loyalty to her husband, but it is just plain
delusional to think anyone could make a dime playing, "Dog
Breath Variations" with an 18 piece big band. So, it was at that
point that I stopped caring whether the Zappas accept me or not.
I still wish them the best, because they're Frank's loved ones,
but there is only so much I can do. I recently met Gail's
sister, Sherrie. What a sweetheart! We met at this Zappa tribute
in Florida I was involved with 2 months ago. She couldn't have
been nicer. She also brought along her husband and some others,
including a beautiful young actress by the name of Lala who
happens to be Gail and Sherrie's niece. We all hung out quite a
lot during the weekend and they seemed to love the concert,
especially Lala, because she spent most of her life in the Zappa
household, hearing Frank's music being composed through the
walls. She was openly weeping during some of the numbers, as was
Sherrie. It was such a beautiful weekend. And all of us (Ike
Willis, me, Jerry Outlaw, the great guitarist from a group
called Bogus Pomp) kept trying to get Sherrie to relay back to
Gail how much we sincerely love this music, how much money we're
losing, and mainly, that we are not the enemy. I know Sherrie
understood, but it's yet to be seen if she has swayed Gail. Time
will tell.

JH: I feel that this album is the only thing
Zappa-related to have come out since his death that does
something new with the material. Do you have any comment on some
of the Zappa cover bands, albums they've released, or the
frequent Rykodisc re-releases of Zappa material?

EP: Well, I saw The Band From Utopia play a couple years
ago at Irving Plaza and was blown away! I thought they were
fantastic! I loved hearing those great players again. Tommy
Mars, especially, but they were all great. Their CD is good,
too, but not as good as their live show was. They played a
really cool original by Chad Wackerman.

My project is different because it would be a waste of my time
to try to replicate something that's been done before. It's okay
for The Band From Utopia because they are the guys who helped
formulate that music. My project has to be my personality or it
would be false. The way I see it, as long as I get the melodies
and harmonies right, however I dress it up (arrange the music)
is my business. If you like it, great! If not, that's cool, too.

I also like the cover bands Project/Object and Bogus Pomp.
They're very talented and extremely sincere. You have to be to
learn FZ's impossible music.

AND WE'RE ALL LOSING OUR SHIRTS PLAYING THIS STUFF!!

JH: You played a Zappa gig down in Florida with an
orchestra? What was that like?

EP: Incredible! I spoke at a symposium the night before
the concert along with several very learned Ph.D.s. (I still
don't know why they invited me). Anyway, the whole weekend was
this incredible love-fest for the music of Frank Zappa. The
energy was astounding! The orchestra played the music flawlessly
and Bogus Pomp was incredible! I was fortunate to play a couple
solos (on alto sax) with them on "Black Napkins" and "Peaches En
Regalia". It all happened in St. Petersburg this past January.

JH: Someone from alt.fan.frank-zappa wants me to ask
about "that crazy guy in the Alice Cooper makeup." He says
you'll know what this means. So I'm asking.

EP: He's referring to Ted Kooshian, my 2nd keyboardist.
He's an unbelievably gifted pianist/composer who has added a new
dimension to the music by playing (via a sampler) harpsichord,
tympani, B3 organ, celeste, glockenspiel, and many other sounds.
He can handle any part I throw at him! He's also an extremely
bizarre fellow, thus the Alice Cooper makeup.

JH: On a related note, what do you think of die hard
Zappa fans and do you consider yourself a member of this club?

EP:
Yeah, I think you could definitely consider me a member of this
club. I've met many of these folks in the 5 years I've been
doing this and I never tire of hearing them thank me for keeping
the music alive. I truly appreciate them!! Like I said before,
there are quite a few Zappa tunes I don't like, but the amount
of tunes that I'm in love with far exceed the ones I don't. I
guess you'd have to be hardcore to spend the time I do
transcribing this music for no money!

JH: If on a desert island, and were allowed one Zappa
album, which would it be? No cheating, you can only name one. I
know this hurts.

EP: If you asked me 5 years ago, I would've either said
Uncle Meat or Burnt Weeny Sandwich (probably "Burnt Weenie"
because of the brilliant "Little House I Used To Live In"--Sugar
Cane Harris--pure nirvana!). But since the re-release of 200
Motels, I gotta say, without a doubt, "200 Motels"! A lot of
this music went over my head as a kid (I was around 16 when it
was first released),but now it just blows my mind! My favorite
tracks? "Dental Hygiene Dilemma" and "Lucy's Seduction of a
Bored Violinist and Postlude" Absolutely brilliant!

JH: Of course, you have a completely non-Zappa
traditional jazz group, as well. Can you tell us a little about
that and will they have any albums out soon?

EP: You are referring to my sextet. That's a band called
the "Burridge-Palermo Sextet". We play at a club called the 55
Bar. This is the club that Mike and Leni Stern play at all the
time. My band's there every other Sunday. The next one is March
28. This band plays tunes by Cedar Walton, Cannonball Adderly,
Herbie Hancock, and others. This is mainly a vehicle for me and
my co-leader, Bud Burridge, to improvise with. I love it. No
albums are set yet for this group. I spend most of my time
trying to get this damn big-band off the ground!

If I may say one last thing here about the Zappa project: I
truly hope to do this for a very long time because I believe
that Frank's music is just as great as the music of Gershwin,
Charles Ives, Samuel Barber, Cole Porter, Aaron Copland, and
many other American composers. Because of his affiliation with
the world of rock and roll, he might not be taken as seriously
as those composers for some years to come. Regardless, I feel
it's important to keep the legacy alive.

On his first Mothers of Invention album, Freak Out!, released in
1965, Frank Zappa quoted musical visionary Edgard Varese: "The present day composer
refuses to die." Little did FZ know then how prophetic that statement would be after
his own death. During his life, Zappa insisted that the rock & roll side of his
multifaceted musical career gave him enough economic security to pursue his true love:
composing complex postmodern classical music. Shortly before he passed away in 1993, he
insisted that he wanted to be remembered most for his "serious" music. Three and
a half years later, while some of his pop-music catalog-which is safe in the hands of
Rykodisc-feels dated, musically Zappas instrumental works continue to sound fresh,
challenging and intriguingly adventurous.

Shortly before his death, there was a scattering of attention to his
oddly titled contemporary orchestral works. Zappa was pleased to report that the
presidents own U.S. Marine Corps Band in Fairfax, Va., had requested the score of
"Dog Breath Variations" and the Connecticut-based dance group Iso was granted
permission to choreograph a performance based on The Grand Wazoo. Two new CDs
foster further recognition and celebration of FZs prowess as a composer. Big band
leader Ed Palermo applies his remarkable arranging touch to the iconoclastic
maestros instrumentals on the appropriately titled Plays The Music Of Frank
Zappa, and Strictly Genteel, a superb collection of his works for orchestra.

In the liner notes to his project, Palermo thanks his cohorts (an
orchestra with full woodwinds, brass and rhythm sections as well as several special guest
soloists) for their talent and enthusiasm by noting, "Folks, this Zappa stuff
aint easy, but my band mastered all of it." Palermo takes on the FZ challenge
as he leads his orchestra through the twists and turns of such well-known works as
"Peaches In Regalia," "King Kong" and "Heavy Duty Judy."
Palermos arrangements do justice to FZs compositions, accentuating their
musical sophistication as well as amplifying their humor, grace, whimsy and passion. While
Zappas music is characterized in stretches by dense polyrhythms, atonal melodic
lines and odd time signatures, Palermo and crew sail through without sinking. Guitarist
Mike Stern and tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer turn in noteworthy solo performances on the
spirited, funk- and reggae-inflected "We Are Not Alone" and the swinging
"Toads Of The Short Forest," respectively. A couple short
non-Zappa works,
including the fun "Finale From Carnival Of The Animals" (written by Camille
Saint Saens) and Palermos own quirky coda, "wai, fu?" fill out the
collection well.

No doubt "Plays the Music of
Frank Zappa" will come as a revelation to listeners who considered Frank Zappa
nothing more than a rock-and-roll oddity-part maverick, part instigator, part farceur. But
even fans familiar with the breadth and depth of his music-and his even more wide-ranging
musical interests-are likely to view this album as an ear-opening experience.

This is truly a work of imagination, after
all. In arranging Zappa's tunes for big band, alto saxophonist and guitarist Ed Palermo
has thrown new light on his legacy while retaining the composer's original melodic and
harmonic designs. A case in point is a two minute musical vignette, "Toads of the
Short Forest. " In Palermo's expansive treatment, the piece initially comes across as
an airy, light footed jazz waltz, whimsically punctuated by reeds before undergoing a
muscular and swinging transformation. Likewise, "20 Small Cigars," another of
Zappa's small melodic gems, glistens with new instrumentation, while "Abye Sea/Inca
Roads" finds Palermo's band celebrating Zappa's baroque to blues sensibility and sly
sense of humor. The arrangements also leave plenty of room for the band's gifted soloists
and guests. The latter include guitarist Mike Stern, saxophonists Bob Mintzer and Chris
Potter and vibist Dave Samuels.

Palermo and co-producer Bob Beldon chose
to leave out Zappa's lyrics, feeling it was better to focus on the musical possibilities.
As entertaining as some of Zappa's commentaries are, it proved a wise decision. The music
stands-and frequently swings-on its own.
-Mike Joyce

THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND
PLAYS THE MUSIC OF FRANK ZAPPA
(Astor Place)
released in 1997

MK involvement: guest guitarist on three tracks

Comments:
I can't conceal the fact that this album, wonderful though it is and a thorough triumph
for my bud Ed, makes me sad. That's only because I had to dash into the studio, record my
little parts, and dash out again in seemingly a matter of minutes, thanks to the extremely
tight recording schedule to which Ed was forced to adhere. As a result my cameo on
"Peaches" does not convey anything close to the vibe it should. My solo on
"Aybe Sea" starts off tentatively but ends up telling a fairly nice story
(nothing compared to Mike Stern's virtuoso turn on "Who Are The Brain Police?/Holiday
In Berlin", but there's no logical reason why my solo SHOULD be as good as Mike
Stern's) - unfortunately the end of the story, a little collage of "Inca Roads"
and "Yo' Mama", has been swept away by the tides of anti-creative corporate
evilness and cannot be heard here. "We Are Not Alone" has a long coda featuring
an "Abbey Road"-esque series of guitar solos - it goes Palermo, Stern, Keneally,
Palermo, Keneally, Stern. My tone bites (not in a good way). I was using an unfamiliar amp
but I'm not making excuses - an experienced stylist should be able to have his way with
any tin can with string attached through which he's forced to play. The day I showed up
for this session wasn't one of my most inspired, and what makes me sad is that a few
months before this recording session Beer For Dolphins performed on a bill with the Ed
Palermo Big Band, and I played with Ed for practically the entirety of his two sets, not
just as guest soloist but as a member of the ensemble, playing parts, and sheer magic
occurred from start to finish. I'd hoped to be able to recreate some of that in the studio
with Ed and it just wasn't possible - I was merely a guest, after all, and I'm glad just
to be a part of it. In any case this CD is invaluable as a document of Ed's vital,
intelligent and downright fun arrangements of Zappa material - Ed has every reason to be
proud of the result. The definitive Palermo/Keneally document is still to come, I reckon.

I am really enjoying this album a lot. The sound is
fantastic. The arrangements, where they vary greatly from Frank's, give the pieces
an exciting newness, and although the changes are not *all* entirely wonderful, it would be
boring to hear a whole album of note-by-note reproductions of FZ recordings. And this album
is anything but boring. The playing is real tight, but not stiff (track one excepted,
perhaps). The packaging is perfect: just enough liner notes, just enough photos,
a few fun
quotes, and multiple gatefolds. (Do the horizontal line patterns in the liner art remind
anyone of what you see in some MIDI composition software?) I'm tempted to compare this disc
more to Ponty's King Kong than any FZ recordings, and Palermo's effort faces that
comparison bravely. A big band can't always be as wild as a smaller ensemble (like
on King Kong) but what it loses in spontaneity it more than makes up for intonal richness. A
great album; I highly recommend it.

Peaches En Regalia: This stands out for me as the low
point of the disc, unfortunately. I've always preferred the tempo a bit quicker on this
tune (I was introduced to the piece via Peaches III, so that figures), although this seems
to be about the same tempo as the Hot Rats version. This rendition seems
kinda lifeless to
me. I'm not real crazy about some of the arrangement choices, either. The opening drum
thing threw me off right away, but little differences are often what makes a cover worth
hearing, so I ignored it. But the RUM-dee-DUM-dee-DUM right before the guitar comes
in turned me off too; it sounds so wooden to me. [Get used to my "dah-dee-dum"
method of musical description, btw; there's more to come.] Keneally has said his solo here
is not real spectacular, and I agree. None too inspired, but there were time constraints in
the studio so I can't say too much about that. The arrangement of the
grouped-16th-noteexchanges near the end sounds forced to me, but it's a minor
nit. Throughout the track, the playing seems kinda "squareish" and stiff.
All very
clean and accurate, but not much in the way of inflection. Not a great start, but things
get much much better...

Toads of the Short Forest: Yes, yes, yes!!! One of my very favorite
FZ melodies, and I don't have to wince in agony as it goes into that
chunka-chunka-chunkidda thing. Bless you, Ed Palermo! The band really makes this melody
swing with the kind of energy they could've used more of on the first track. The
chord progression proves to be fertile soloing ground indeed, and some of
the best soloing
on the disc is done right here. Not wailing-a-mile-a-minute soloing, mind you, but
thoughtful, articulate and heartfelt soloing that makes great use of the underlying chords.
Forget "Peaches", start the disc here and weep at the splendor. The organ solo
gives me huge chills, especially as it crescendos into the sax solo. The track fades in
the midst of this solo, which is a bummer, but it^s an outstanding track
nonetheless.

Who
Are the Brain Police/Holiday in Berlin (excerpt): This is quite well done. An intriguing
exploration of the two pieces, featuring a very nice Mike Stern guitar solo. Do I hear a
little "Uncle Meat" thrown in for good measure?

Twenty Small
Cigars: A bit fast, me thinks. I love this piece in it's original form, even more so on King
Kong; the somber
tone of that recording allows for deeper absorption of the exquisite harmonies in the
melody. I think this version is trying to pep it up a bit, but the melody ends up sounding
rather rushed to my ears. Ultimately, this faster tempo serves the solo
section well, as I'm
not sure Dave Samuels' great vibes would have been as appropriate to the more
"down" arrangement. Overall, it sounds very good.

King Kong: Is it possible to
fuck this piece up? (Actually, I thought the reggae version came close, but to each his or
her own). Any band that can't kick ass on this tune shouldn't be playing Zappa at all; the
Palermo band does a very nice job of nailing this little bastard to the wall. I'm not
crazy about some of the arrangement choices, but again, vive le difference.
The track as a
whole is really good and lively, if a bit short; I could have used a few more solos (bitch
bitch bitch).

Aybe Sea: This starts off pretty straightforward, arrangement-wise, which is a
good thing. Not everything needs to be tinkered with. But then comes Keneally's solo, which
is much less straightforward, at least to my ears. Super-fine, Mikey! Do my ears deceive,
or does this solo section (MK's playing excluded) turn into the Sharleena solo section,
like when Dweezil plays it on _YCDTOSAv3_? The solo section ends in a WICKED abrupt
fade into the piano restating the theme; could we not have worked out some
sort of segue
here? Still, I like this a lot.

Waka/Jawaka: Wow, caffeine, anybody? Palermo steps up the
tempo a notch on this piece and the band makes it work quite nicely. I wouldn't have
thought the staccato bursts would be played so cleanly at this tempo. I
particularly dig the
sax solo. As it was approaching, I sort of expected the guy to rise to the tempo challenge
with some balls-to-the-wall 16th-note scale madness flying all over the place. When it
comes, however, Chris Potter says "fuck the challenge, I'm playing a solo here"
and lays back into the groove beautifully, not even starting right away, building it up
only as he sees fit, and only when he's damn good and ready. Very well done,
probably my
favorite solo on the album. Nice "Idiot Bastard Son" snippet at the end of the
track.

Sofa #1: The band wrings plenty of emotion out of this one, a piece that (it
seems to
me) would be easy to play dull-ly. My poor grammar notwithstanding, the most surprising
thing to me is the change into a steady four for the middle section. The transition into it
is quite pleasing, and the transition out is barely noticeable. Very nice sax work by
Palermo, and vibes by Samuels.

The Little House I Used to Live In: A nice lively arrangement
on this one. The playing is hot; lots of drive and conviction. A very strong opening. I
adore the tone on Mike Stern's beautiful solo. It's funny, the title of this piece never
had much of a connection to the music in my mind, but I'll be damned if Stern's
solo doesn't
make me think of a little house I used to live in. How wonderfully unexpected!

We Are Not
Alone: Where's that dwoinky little guitar thing, god dammit!?!?! You know what
I mean, at the
very end of the main theme, that DIDdleDIDdledeeDIDdleDIDdledee DWOINK dee-DWOINK
dee-DWOINK dee-DWOINK. It was myfavorite part of the track and it's gone! I mean hell,
Keneally stuck it in at those Bottom Line shows two Aprils ago, why isn't it here?
That aside, however, the track is really hot. The middle section features
traded guitar
licks from Palermo, Stern and Keneally. MK wrote in his discography who's playing when, but
I say fuck it, it all sounds great! Nice overall; the ending is a bit abrupt.

wai,fn?
(written by Palermo) I'm guessing this stands for "what am i, fucking nuts?"
Sounds good tome. As does this track, although it starts as abruptly as the previous
one ended (I could see that being done intentionally, I guess). The opening
sax jam is very
"Grand Wazoo". It goes into a really nifty piano-harpsichord thing, then the band
comes back and polishes the whole thing off in grand fashion. A fun and fitting tribute to
end a...well, a fun and fitting tribute. A quick track which beats the hell out of
"How Would You Like To Have A Head Like That" as far as I'm concerned.
If you're
going to put an original track on a tribute album, this is how it should be: short and
sweet. Kudos!

In summary, I'm very impressed with this disc. I find it to be
an excellent
companion piece to King Kong, as though they represent FZ as filtered through either
hemisphere of the brain. I don't know if Palermo will ever record a follow-up Zappa disc,
but if he does I will buy it without hesitation. Pick this one up right away!

"LET'S HEAR IT FOR another great Italian . .
." was how Frank Zappa sometimes introduced such band members as Vinnie Colaiuta or
Warren Cucurillo. These days, the "another great Italian" revered by Zappa
fanatics is Ed Palermo, whose 18-piece Big Band has been playing Palermo's brilliant
interpretations of Zappa's music for over four years at New York's Bottom Line. Palermo's
Bottom Line Zappafests have become an every-couple-of months-or-so tradition, Ed Palermo
documented in small part by his outstanding 1997 Astor Place album The Ed Palermo Big Band
Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa, that featured guest stars Mike Stern, Dave Samuels, Bob
Mintzer, Chris Potter and ex-Zappa frontman Mike Keneally. "I'm not a famous
guy," Palermo told me when I asked for his professional history. He graduated college
and moved to New York with hopes of making his way in jazz as a tenor saxophonist, but
soon became more interested in writing and arranging. While playing tenor for Tito Puente,
Palermo put together a nine-piece band, which was expanded into the Ed Palermo Big Band.
In the early 1980s, the group was in Monday night residency at the Brecker Bros.-owned
club Seventh Avenue South. Palermo's first album, Ed Palermo, featured Randy Brecker, Dave
Sanborn--"This is when Sanborn was still affordable" said Palermo--and Edgar
Winter. The album was released on a label called-with shades of Zappalogical
nomenclature--Vile Heifer Records. His second album, Ping-Pong, was released by Pro Jazz
Records. In 1991, the life long Zappaphile in Palermo asserted itself and he began to
transcribe Zappa's music and arrange it for a big band, starting with such early-days
classics as "King Kong" and "Toads Of The Short Forest." Before the
first EP-plays-FZ show at New York's Bitter End, Palermo posted a notice for the show on
an Internet Zappa bulletin board. "Up until then, my own shows at the Bitter End were
drawing next to nobody," said Palermo. "For some reason, the word got out about
the Zappa show and the place was swamped. And it was incredibly exciting--people there
were Zappa fanatics. A couple people drove down from Montreal, a couple people from
Boston. And I thought, 'Man, this is something special here.' "As much fun as the
Bitter End show had been, Palermo saw it strictly as a one-off event, until he was
contacted by Alan Pepper of the Bottom Line, where the series has remained ever since.
Although Palermo has made repeated attempts to contact Zappa's widow Gail Zappa about the
on going project, he has never heard back from her. "I'm not doing this to capitalize
on Frank's death," said Palermo, "It's just that there are some people out there
who love the music so much that they're willing to spend a significant amount of their
time arranging and performing it." As to notions that Palermo is "making a
living" off Zappa's music, he replied: "You can't make a living playing in a
tribute band, let alone a Frank Zappa tribute band where you've got 18 members of the band.
Financially, everyone loses on this thing. "Ironically, the Palermo Big Band Zappa
shows are wildly creative, technically dazzling and sometimes zany affairs--proving
themselves utterly faithful to the spirit of Frank Zappa. "I used to worry about
saying something that would offend the Zappas," Palermo concluded, "but I
realized a long time ago that there's nothing that I'll ever be able to do to get them to
appreciate what I'm doing." Performances by the Ed Palermo Big Band hew closely to
Zappa's seamless execution, with the Ed Palermo band playing for at least a half hour
before the first break between songs. They opened with "Theme From 'Run
Home Slow'," from the early '60s soundtrack Zappa wrote for the movie of that name.
That segues into vocal number "Son Of Orange County," then without pause into
the bittersweet chiming of the solo piano intro to "Absolutely Free." On
"Zoot Allures," Zappa's sustained, whang-barred chords are transformed into a
thick carpet of woodwinds. Palermo's powerful big band blasts give gospeloid tune
"Uncle Remus" the kind of depth of soul typical of Muscle Shoals, while the
chorus of "Cruising For Burgers" embraces a reedily lovely Renaissance/madrigal
style. Palermo builds the bluesywah-wahed guitar line from "Get A Little" into a
big band chart and on1966 tune "Status Back Baby"--which originally featured
quotations from Stravinsky's "Petrouchka"--Palermo artfully folds two snippets
of the famed ballet over on itself. The final tune of the evening is "Eddie
Are You
Kidding?," which was an FZ throwaway, but its revival affords Palermo
an irresistible
cue to insist that no, indeed he is not kidding, the show is coming to a close. Palermo
clearly loves Zappa's music as much as he loves putting witty new spins on it. "What
I do is my interpretation of it," he said. "As long as I get the melodies right
and the harmonies right--rhythmically, I mess around with rhythms more than the other
stuff--but as long as I get the melodies and harmonies right and don't fluff over them,
then I've done my job. From that point on, it's just my interpretation and my personality
doing this music." And also in keeping with the Zappa approach, Palermo sprinkles
cover tunes throughout the set--some that were in Zappa's repertoire, some not. Palermo
plays Little Richard's "Directly From My Heart To You" as Zappa did, but with
wonderfully rolling saxophone accompaniment. They also covered the Beatles' "I Am the
Walrus," which was actually in the FZ set list on his final tour. The evening's other
covers were Edgar Winter's "Jimmy's Gospel" (from his 1970 Entrance album, which
Palermo plans to arrange stem-to-stern for some future performance) and the ludicrously
giddy rev-up of a melody from "The Nutcracker Suite" called "The
Nutrocker." It had been also covered by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, but was originally
a 1962 top 40 hit by some LA session players who called themselves B. Bumble & The
Stingers. Their other notable covers not in the evening's program are Todd Rundgren
instrumental "Breathless," Jimi Hendrix' "Rainy Day," Los Lobos'
"Kiko And The Lavender Moon" and Tony Williams' "Snake Oil." The also
play delightful work-ups of Beach Boys tunes "Sail On Sailor" and "Disney
Girls." (Of the latter song, Palermo noted: "We would never play that at the
Bottom Line, because it's such a beautiful corny little tune--it's so corny that the Zappa
audience might throw things at me.") Other nuggets they've played include Jeff Beck
tunes "Definitely Maybe," "Rice Pudding" and "Diamond Dust";
the Beatles' "Good Morning" and "Good Night"; ELP's "Bitches
Crystal"; and Jaco Pastorius' "Three Views Of A Secret. "Keneally is the one
ex-Zappa musician who's appeared with Palermo's group the most, although former FZ lead
singer Ike Willis has done a couple guest appearances as well--although he failed to show
up as promised at a Bottom Line show last summer. "It didn't matter," said
Palermo. "The night he didn't show up, the band sounded so good I didn't care to be
perfectly honest. I mean, I cared, because it's always fun playing with him, but the fact
of the matter is the band is the focal point for me. "Indeed, Palermo has a strong, at
times seemingly telepathic, connection to the band that crowds the small Bottom Line
stage. His loose style of conducting belies an ability to shift the band's gears at a
moment's notice--or to give another chorus to a soloist who's really on a roll. Palermo,
who sometimes plays alto sax or guitar as well, leads Cliff Lyons (flute, clarinet, alto
saxophone); Chuck Fisher, (flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone); Jeff Lederer (flute, tenor
saxophone); Al Hunt (piccolo, flute, oboe, soprano & baritone saxophones, bass
clarinet); Phil Chester (piccolo, flute, soprano & alto saxophones); Liesl Whitaker,
Jami Dauber, Ronnie Buttacavoli and Elaine Burt (trumpet); Dan Levine and Dale
Kirkland (trombone); Jack Schatz (bass trombone); Bob Quaranta (piano); Ted
Kooshian
(harpsichord, organ, synthesizer); Paul Adamy (electric bass); Ray Marchica (drums); and
Carl Restivo (vocals). The Ed Palermo Big Band also has its own site. Many of Palermo's
crew earn their livings from Broadway orchestras or session work. "I try to tell the
guys, it this is your main source of income, don't have any kids," he explained.
Palermo himself will take gigs at weddings to make ends meet, but he's never sought a
non-musical means of getting by. "I'm proud to say that I haven't got a straight
gig," he said. "All I do is music. I also do a lot of a lot of arranging for
those society bands, the type of bands that do corporate gigs." Palermo is a
composer, and while his band often rehearses his pieces, they remain mostly unheard. What
about an evening entitled "Ed Palermo Plays The Music Of Ed Palermo?" "The
guys in the band keep saying that. I'd love to. In fact, down the line, I'll have a night
somewhere. Do my own music and no one will show up," he concluded with a laugh.
Although Palermo's next record won't be for Astor Place, he has ventured back into New
York's Power Station recording studio, where he's recorded versions of Zappa tunes
"Regyptian Strut" and "Cy Borg," as well as Rundgren's
"Breathless." Still, Palermo wonders if all the tracks he's recorded are
complimentary, as Zappa's eccentric melodies would sit beside his big band chart for Neil
Young's folky "Harvest Moon." "It's like Nelson Riddle meets Neil
Young" enthused Palermo. It's a juxtaposition that surely would've made Frank Zappa
smile.

For the past few years, guitarist/saxophonist
Ed Palermo has been honing his tribute to Frank Zappawith a series of live shows at the Bottom Line in New York. Palermo and company
have finally documented several of their crafty interpretations, and the result is
"Plays The Music of Frank Zappa," due from the Astor Place label in May. The
bandleader has chosen to reconfigure some of Zappa's most gorgeous and iconoclastic
pieces, including 'Toads Of The Short Forest," "Twenty Small Cigars,"
"Waka/Jawaka," and "Mother People." Guitarist Mike Stern, vibist Dave
Samuels, and tenor saxophonist Chris Potter each participate on the date as guest
soloists.

The body may be dead, but the music and the
underground which came to love the man and his work are very much alive. Zappa shed the
mortal coil a year ago, but you'd never know it from the packed house of fans - of all
ages and Zappa eras - who jammed The Bottom Line on a cold, rainy December Monday. The
reason? To see Old Soul Piece's infinitely diverse works interpreted by a group of his
most diehard worshipers: the 18-piece Ed Palermo Big Band.

In case you haven't noticed, a
living, breathing big band is a rare occurrence these days. For a leader, launching such a
dinosaur is a prescription for certain frustration and financial suicide unless you're a
Janet Plastic Face who can afford to cart along a coterie of jiggle boys and girls and let
the Mac take care of the music-making. Palermo, a talented arranger who can also make an
alto hop like Bird or go greasy like Cannonball, should be commended for a lot of things,
but mainly for his ability to first craft great charts and then gather together solid
talent and lead them on a difficult mission where the rewards are limited to the joy of
art alone.

Since shortly after Zappa passed on, Palermo
and band (three trombones, six saxes, four trumpets, two singers, piano, bass and
drums have been playing concerts dedicated to Zappa's music, principally for peanuts at The
Bitter End. The show witnessed at The Bottom Line was a great pleasure from a musical
perspective, and a bargain to boot. The band performed impeccable Palermo arrangements of
33 tunes, unexpected cult faves from the mid '60s through the '90s.

After a brief intro from
"Brown Shoes Don't Make It" the band swung hard into the rolling thunder of
"King Kong." From the jump it was evident who the standouts were - drummer Tommy
Igoe and bass player Paul Adamy - who drove the band, smoothed out several rough spots and
pushed soloists like "Kong" trumpeter Rick Savage to the edge of their
talents (the only place to be, no matter how talented).

Naturally, the
repertoire relied heavily on mid-era Zappa - the offbeat orchestral chamber music and big
band avant discs likeBurnt
Weeny Sandwich (my desertisland
offer, buy it todayl). Weasels Ripped My Flesh,
The Grand Wazoo,
Waka/Jawaka and, of course,
Hot Rats. Palermo and
band should be noted for their delicate renderings of pieces like 'Toads Of The Short
Forest," "Oh No" and "Dwarf Nebula," where the reed section went
to oboes, flutes and piccolos.

But by in large, they swung the
tunes, giving pieces like "Sofa" a driving, gospel feel with percolating brass
chordal backdrop for soloists. The set had great pace, moving quickly and interestingly
between unexpected segues and changes of mood. Special note for solos go to Palermo
(on
"The Grand Wazoo") and tenor man Jeff Lyons ('Waka Jawaka").

Rocker Frank Zappa briefly
experimented with big bands in the early 1970s and again during his last
tour in 1988; this big band tribute by saxophonist Ed Palermo
concentrates primarily on pieces recorded for Zappa's early Mothers of
Invention records. So many rock and modern pop tunes don't translate
into jazz very well. Zappa's enthusiasm for unusual time signatures and
wild chord progressions are relatively new ground for jazz musicians;
Palermo dreamed for years of "fleshing out" Zappa's music for
big band. The snappy "Peaches En Regalia," features ex-Zappa
sideman Mike Keneally capturing the spirit of his late boss' guitar
solos, as he also does with his blazing attack on "Aybe Sea."
Palermo successfully extends Zappa miniatures like the upbeat
"Toads of the Short Forest" and cocktail lounge parody
"Twenty Small Cigars." Perhaps his most intriguing arrangement
is the imaginative combining of "Who Are the Brain Police?"
with "Holiday In Berlin" in a medley showcasing guitarist Mike
Stern. Palermo's horn charts flesh out "Waka Jawaka"
(originally recorded by Zappa with Sal Marquez overdubbing several
trumpets); tenor saxophonist Chris Potter's solo is outstanding, but
drummer Ray Marchica's drums are a bit too prominent in the mix. Jam
session favorite "King Kong" has always inspired lively solos
and tenor saxman Bob Mintzer keeps the tradition alive. This CD should
have high appeal to jazz fans familiar with Frank Zappa's recordings,
but others should also give it a hearing with open ears. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide

 On Saturday, January 16, at the Bayfront Center's Mahaffey Theater, the
10-piece rock band Bogus Pomp will join the Florida Orchestra in a
program of music by the late musical iconoclast Frank Zappa. The
program will begin with the orchestra playing a half-dozen of Zappa's
more celebrated "classical" pieces. Then Outlaw and company will perform
a set of Zappa's tricky rock-based music for about 90 minutes. They will
be joined on a few songs by Ike Willis, a long-time lead singer and
rhythm guitarist in Zappa's bands, and saxophonist Ed Palermo, who leads
a big band in New York that plays Zappa music. "Every orchestra these
days is interested in doing things that don1t fit the traditional
classical mold," says Jeff Woodruff, the Florida Orchestra1s artistic
director. "This was an idea whose time had arrived. "
During his career, Zappa was known as an anti-establishment smart-ass
who shot satiric daggers at everything from hippies to punks to holy
rollers. He was also given to out-and-out tomfoolery Beneath all the
shenanigans lay masterful music that ranged from labyrinthine
instrumental passages to razor rock, '50s and '60s soul, jazz and other
genres. Zappa's symphonic music is marked by shifting rhythms, dizzying
counterpoint and a penchant for staccato flights. "The buzz in the
hallway among the musicians is that this upcoming concert is really
hard," Wilson said. "But it's new and different. I don't think there1s
much resistance to Zappa as a composer." Conductor Wilkins sees the
biggest challenge as "getting the people to play it like it's music, not
like a conglomeration of rhythms and awkward harmonies. They need to
grab hold of it like a Beethoven symphony and just play it. Hemmer,
Outlaw and Coash would like to see a Zappa performance become an annual
event. In their minds, it would give the orchestra a niche of
international prestige beyond the performance of classics. As for the
orchestra, they are excited about reaching an audience beyond their
usual classical subscribers, an issue that confronts all symphonies
going into the next century. "Orchestras have a reputation for being
stodgy," Coash says. "This is a chance for us to break out of that image
and do something that will appeal to the rock 'n' roll crowd, but it1s
not like we're whoring ourselves out and just doing some gig for the
rock crowd. This concert has real artistic integrity." A Tribute to
Frank Zappa's Music will be held at the Mahaffey Theater at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 16, featuring Bogus Pomp (with special guests Ike Willis
and Ed Palermo) and the Florida Orchestra, featuring resident conductor
Thomas Wilkins. 
 By Eric Snider, Strange Bedfellows